Johnny Messner (musician)
Encyclopedia
Johnny Messner was an American bandleader
, composer
, saxophonist, and vocalist during the big band
/swing
heyday.
he was drafted into the US Army, where he served as bandleader for ensembles at military training facilities across the United States
. After the war ended, he joined Vincent Lopez
's orchestra
as an assistant bandleader and saxophonist.
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, saxophonist, and vocalist during the big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
/swing
Swing (genre)
Swing music, also known as swing jazz or simply swing, is a form of jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and became a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States...
heyday.
Background
Messner, the youngest of five brothers, received a scholarship to study at the Juilliard School of Music. During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was drafted into the US Army, where he served as bandleader for ensembles at military training facilities across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. After the war ended, he joined Vincent Lopez
Vincent Lopez
Vincent Lopez was an American bandleader and pianist.Vincent Lopez was born of Portuguese immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York and was leading his own dance band in New York City by 1917...
's orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
as an assistant bandleader and saxophonist.